cutbackshttp://www.maclife.com/taxonomy/term/11125/all
enAmidst Rumors of Weak Demand, Apple Reduces iPhone 5c Shipmentshttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/amidst_rumors_weak_demand_apple_reduces_iphone_5c_shipments
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/iphone_5c_livestream_620px.png" alt="iPhone 5c" width="620" height="300" /></p><p>Is the iPhone 5c living up to Apple's expectations? Outside of its Cupertino headquarters, that's anyone's guess, but a new report claims the company is cutting back on fourth quarter orders for the handset.<br /><br /><a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304864504579138761727258256" target="_blank"><em>The Wall Street Journal</em> reported Wednesday</a> that Apple may be reducing orders for the iPhone 5c ahead of the holiday season, a report that's in line with recent analyst concerns over "weaker-than-expected demand" for the device.<br /><br />According to sources inside Taiwanese companies Pegatron and Hon Hai Precision Industry, shipments of the entry-level iPhone 5c will be cut in the fourth quarter, despite being priced $100 below the equivalent 16GB iPhone 5s.<br /><br />Apple will apparently trim Pegatron orders by "less than 20 percent," while Hon Hai will see nearly a third of their orders reduced, according to two people close to the situation. The cuts were ordered earlier this month, at which time Hon Hai "stopped hiring additional workers" to assemble the iPhone 5c.<br /><br />"One component supplier was notified of a 50 percent cut in orders for iPhone 5C parts, which analysts say could suggest a slowdown in device shipments next year, or mean an inventory reduction by assemblers," the report added.<br /><br />It's important to note that analysts have been down on the iPhone 5c since it was first announced last month. Wall Street incorrectly assumed the handset would be a truly "budget" model priced around $350 off contract, when in reality the device costs $200 more when purchased unlocked.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a></em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/amidst_rumors_weak_demand_apple_reduces_iphone_5c_shipments#commentsNewsanalystsapple manufacturingcutbacksHon Hai Precision IndustryiPhone 5CordersPegatronreductionshipmentsiPhoneWed, 16 Oct 2013 13:33:54 +0000J.R. Bookwalter18335 at http://www.maclife.comSony Slashing 10,000 Jobs as New CEO Promises “One Sony” Unityhttp://www.maclife.com/article/news/sony_slashing_10000_jobs_new_ceo_promises_%E2%80%9Cone_sony%E2%80%9D_unity
<!--paging_filter--><p><img src="/files/u220903/sony_ceo_kazuo_hirai_200px.png" alt="Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai" width="200" height="150" class="graphic-right" />New Sony boss Kazuo Hirai is determined to to return flailing Sony to its former days of glory in consumer electronics -- not to mention profitability -- but the road ahead will be paved with pink slips as the CEO regroups into “One Sony.”<br /><br /><a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/news/sony-maps-revival-plan-cut-063224098.html" target="_blank">Reuters (via Yahoo! News) is reporting</a> that Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai has made his first public briefing in his new position, which he inherited from Howard Stringer only last month. Feeling the pressure from Apple’s mobile devices and losing ground in the rest of the consumer electronics market from South Korea’s Samsung, Sony veteran Hirai plans “a major push into smartphones, growth in games and cameras and big cost cuts in a TV business that has not made a profit in eight years.”<br /><br />"I am determined to transform and revive Sony. This is our only chance to change," Hirai told a packed news conference at the company’s Tokyo headquarters on Thursday. “We cannot shy away from difficult decisions," he said.<br /><br />In the short term, that involves trimming the fat and stanching the mounting losses as the company becomes “One Sony.” The first move comes with the axing of 10,000 jobs (around six percent of Sony’s global workforce) and a 75 billion yen ($926 million) “restructuring charge” for 2012. The layoffs follow two prior cuts made during six years of Stringer’s tenure as CEO.<br /><br />Hirai hails from Sony’s PlayStation video game unit, which he previously had success in reviving. Now as CEO, the executive has his eye on smartphones in the wake of Sony buying out Ericsson’s half of their former venture in that marketplace, to the tune of $1.5 billion.<br /><br />However, Sony faces an uphill battle on nearly every front: Smartphones, digital cameras, video games and television. And the company is not alone, with Sharp and Panasonic also suffering from weak demand for their HDTV products. Sony now faces a reality where Japan’s “once-mighty television industry” may be anything but.<br /><br />"Sony's fundamental problem is that it has lost its competitiveness," explains Hideyuki Suzuki, general manager of research at SBI Securities.<br /><br />Hirai also plans to expand Sony’s horizons with “new businesses in medical equipment and electric car batteries,” having set a goal for 8.5 trillion yen ($105 billion) over the next two years.<br /><br /><em>Follow this article’s author, <a href="http://www.twitter.com/JRBTempe" target="_blank">J.R. Bookwalter on Twitter</a><br /><br />(Image courtesy of Reuters)</em></p><p>&nbsp;</p>http://www.maclife.com/article/news/sony_slashing_10000_jobs_new_ceo_promises_%E2%80%9Cone_sony%E2%80%9D_unity#commentsNewsCEOcutbacksDigital CamerasfinancialshdtvJapanKazuo HirailayoffsPlaystationsmartphonesSonySony EricssonThu, 12 Apr 2012 13:13:53 +0000J.R. Bookwalter13807 at http://www.maclife.com